Rensselaer Republican, Volume 18, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 April 1886 — CONGRESS. [ARTICLE]

CONGRESS.

What Is Being Done by the National Legislature. • Mr. Voorhees introduced in tho jjenate. on the 3Othult. an.enabling act for the Montana, preliminary to the admission of- the Territory to the Union. Gen. Logan's bill to increase the efficiency Of thearrnv was debated. .Mr. Cullom introduced a bill appropriating J 500.000 for the erection in_ Washington city of a monument with appropriate statnary, to commemorate the tHnstrinw public services of the late Abraham Lincoln. The. nourination of O. O. Howard to be Major General in place of John Pope was confirmed bv the Senate. In the House of Representatives Mr. Randall, of Pennsylvania, asked unanimous consent to offer the following resolution: Retolved, That a committee of five members be appointed, whose duty it shall be to investigate the circumstances and causes attending the killingon the 18th of March. 1&86, in Carrollton,Miss., of a number < t colored citizens of said State. Mr. Reagan, of Texas, objected, on the ground that Congress had no jurisdiction over the mat-1 ter. Mr. Randall then asked to have the resolu-' tion referred, but Mr. Rengan objected, notwithstanding the request made by Mr. Barksdale, of Mississippi, in behalf of the Mississippi delegation, that there might be no objection. The House indulged in along debate on the postoffice appropriation bill, during which time there was a lively interchange of personalities between Messrs. McMillin, land Houk, of Tennessee. Mr. Dolph, of Oregon, addressed the Senate on the 31st ult,, in support of the bill tor the admission of Washington Territory. Mr. Vance spoke in support of his bill to repeal the civil service law. When the army bill came up, Gen. Logan took occasion to deny the reports that there was a coolness between himself and Senator Hale, of I Maine, because of the latter's opposition to the army bill, which, it had been further reported, was inspired ‘by Mr. Blaine. The Illinois Senator denied that he was standing in the way of any man's Presidential candidacy. In executive session the Senate confirmed a large number of nominations, and rejected tbree-those of John C. Wise, to be postmaster -at Mankato, Minn. ; H. N. Jewett, of Massachusetts, to be consul at Sivas. and the postmaster at Webster City, lowa. In the House of Represents-, ‘ lives of Mr. O'Neill, of Missouri, reported from the Committee birLabor a bill for the voluntary arbitration of differences between common carriers engaged in interstate and territorial transportation of propertv or passengers and their employes. The bill was referred to the committee" of the whole and the House went into committee, with Mr. Springer (Ill.) in the chair, for its consideration. Mr. O’Neill spoke inslipport, ofthe . measitre,. which was the best one the Labor Committee could formulate. It provided sinqtly tor a voluntary arbitration. He knew that this was disappointing to many members of the House, but if they would but reflect they would realize that the first thing to consider was how far they could regulate life dispute; by an appeal to pub-**, lie opinion. If this niethod failed, then he could see but one other, and that was the strong arm of the Government to take the giant corporations by the throat and tell them that they must yield to arbitration ; that the Government vauld not have the condition of affairs that to-day prevailed throughout five States of the , Union—a practical revolution—all business suspended, and the people of great cities suffering from the increased cost of foed and fuel. Messrs. Hammond (Ga.l, Weaver (Iowa), Brumm (Pa.), and Daniel (Va.) opposed the bill. Mr. Weaver thought that the cure of all labor troubles lay in the increase of the currency. Mr. Reagan (Texas) opposed the bill because it would take from the local tribunals where it belonged the adjustment and settlement of a local question. The bill appropriating $500,000 for the erection of a monument to Abraham Lincoln at Washington, passed the Senate on the Ist inst. Messrs. Dolph and Morgan addressed the Senate in support, of the bill to admit Washington Territory into the Union, after which the amendments proposed by the committee and another affecting the school lands were adopted. President Cleveland nominated to the Senate for the vacant brigadier generalships Colonel Thomas H. Ruger, of the Eiehteenth Infantry, and Colonel .Joseph H. Potter, of the Twentyfourthinfantry. The House devoted the day to • the discussion "of the labor arbitration bill. The Labor Committee’s arbitration bill.occupied the exclusive attention of the House on the 2d inst. ■ Various amendments were offered, nearly all of which were voted down as fast a» they came up. Mr. O’Neill, of Missouri,, said“that people were >v suffering for food in the West on account -of ther strike, while constitutional cranks stood quibbling on the floor of the House.. He begged the House to crush out the obstructionists. Mr. Lawler of Illinois spoke in support of tlie bill. He said that its opponents Lad hud three long months to prepare somethimg ujEjn the question and had not done sX But now they insulted the intelligence of the well-meaning men on the Committee on Labor who had given it their attention. Passing on to tlie consideration of the strike ou tho Missouri Pacific, he declared that without wishing to become communistic in his utter-.. ances ha was free to say that if Joy; Gould was hung to a lamp-post in New York it would t e a blessing to the community known as the United States. (Laughter.| 'The action of Jay Gould might cost hundreds nnd thousands of lives throughout the Western States. The death of-ainan like this was nothing eompared With what might occur if the difficulties .werj not settled 'in those States; Mr. Farquhhr. of New York, supported the bill. Mr. Glover, Miss >un, declared that it was a constitutional abortion. He denounced it in the name of capital. He denounced it in the name of labor, because it offered a stone, and not bread. The.first four sections of the bill were adopted, with slight amendments, and pending consideration of the fifth section the 'House adjourned. The Senate was not in session. Only the House of Representatives was in session on the 3d inst. When the labor arbitration bill came up, in committee of the whole, Mr. Warner, of ’Missouri, offered an amendment providing that the members of the tribunal of arbitration shall receive a compensation of SIU a day for the time actually employed. It also prescribes the fees and compensation to be allowed the clerk, stenographer, marshals, and witnesses, provides that the tribunal shall have the power to limit the number of witnesses in each cS|Se whose fees shall be paid by the United States, and appropriates a sufficient sum to carry the provisions of the bill into effect. Mr. Tillman, of South Carolina, offered an amendment to the amendment providing that not exceeding SI,OOO shall be paid out of the Treasury to defray the expenses of any single arbitration. The amendment was agreed to, and Mr. Warner’s amendment, as amended, was adopted. The committee -then rose and reported the bill to the House. It was immediately passed—yeas 195, nays 29. The (following lathe negative vote: Allen (Miss.), Barnes, Belmont, Bennett, Breckinridge (Ky.), Crisp, Croxton, Davidson (Ala.), Daniel, Flirun. Forney, Glover, jlale, Hammond, Harris, Hemphill, Hill, Hutton. Irion. Jones - (Ala.). Norwood, O’Ferrell, Perry, Reagan, Rogers), Sadler, Skinner, Tillman, and Tucker. On motion of Mr. Kelley, of Pennsylvania, the title of the bill was amended so as to read and differences between railroad corporations' engaged in interstate and territorial transporta- . tion of property arid passengers and their employes.” After the labor arbitration bill had passed the House took up the silver debate. Mr. Fuller, of lowa, argued in favor of a double standard, and charged that the officials of the Treasury Department were ’ violating the'™ laws and thwarting the will of the people in refusing to pay out silver on the obligations of the Government. Mr. Barksdale, of Mississippi, opposed thb suspension of silver coinage, as did Mr. Caldwell, of Tennessee. Mr. Gallinger, of New Hampshire, argued in favor of the susjteusion of nil- . ver coinage. President Cleveland's “innocuous desuetude” wasoxaetly what the silver dollar, needed. Mr, Woodburn, of Nevada, defended the silver dollar frjm the charge of dishonesty, and orguf’d 7 in favor of an unlimited coinage. Messrs. Price, of Wisconsin. and-Neei:e, of Illinois, spoke in opposition to the suspension-of silvercoinage* * ’ '■ •' -7— —7=77—,'—-.7T= J \ • They were at a dinner-party, and he remarked that he supposed she was fond of ethnology. She said she was, but she was not very well, and th^ 7 doctor had told here not to eat anything for desert but oranges. Judge (to witness with bandaged eye) —“Eid be have any provocation -- when he struck you?” Witness —“He may have- had something of the kind concealed on. his person, but it was a brick he struck me wid.”